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Thursday, 16 April 2015

A to Z Challenge: N is for Nightshade

This month, I’m taking part in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, the annual event where hundreds of bloggers write 26 blogs—one for each letter of the alphabet—and post them each day of April, except Sundays. This year, I’m blogging about: THINGS THAT GROW IN ALBERTA. Don’t forget to check back daily and leave a comment on my blog, Facebook page, Twitter, Tumblr or via email at chase.superman.duffy@gmail.com. I’ll randomly pick a few winners who will WIN a SIGNED copy of one of the Chase “Superman Duffy” comics.

If you’ve followed my blog for a bit—or know anything about me—you know I LOVE all things creepy. Beneath the SOIL, the eighth book in the Chase “Superman” Duffy series is actually a thriller.

So, it shouldn’t surprise you that I’m fascinated by poisonous plants—like, today’s N-word, the deadly Nightshade.

Nightshade has a long history of being used as a poison, but here’s something really scary—the Nightshade family includes common plants like potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants and chili peppers (plants my grandma has in her garden!)

All of these plants contain toxins, usually found in the foliage—maybe that’s why my resourceful grandma has never served potato or tomato greens, fried steamed or in a salad! Nightshade, on the other hand even has poisonous berries.

Yesterday, I talked about daffodils being a sign of spring, but did you know that if the bulbs are eaten—sometimes mistaken for onions—they can be toxic? And how about Hemlock? It’s one of the most famous poisonous plants in history. It even killed Socrates. The whole plant contains a poison that can cause stomach pains, vomiting and paralysis! (ew!)

Don’t worry though, not much Hemlock grows in Alberta.

However…you do have to keep an eye out for Poison Ivy. If you accidentally touch that stuff, you’ll get a rash. It’s not contagious and it will clear up in a few weeks—but they won’t be a very fun few weeks.